Tales from the front-line of a British mummy living in the American land of mommies...

Monday, June 8, 2009

Does size matter?

'If only I'd put on a mere 3lbs in ONE year!' I grumbled to myself today in the pediatrician's office. Three pounds!

I was there with Cheeky and Monkey for Monkey's 3 yr check up. Him having just had a birthday 'n' all. And bless his very little cotton socks, it seems Mum/Mom's double cream added to the macaroni cheese, hasn't done much for his weight gain, but jeez-Louise, it's not done me any favours either.

I blame the kitchen.

No, I blame Him Downstairs.

For giving me the kitchen.

Ha! If he'd not surrendered to my incessant whinging about my crap-to-cook-in-former-kitchen, (perfect for opening up a bag of salad greens and tossing a baby carrot on top) then I wouldn't be in the Nigella mess I'm in with my waistline right now, would I?

Anyway, that's another beat-myself-up-about-my-crazy-lack-of-willpower where desserts are concerned dialogue, that, frankly, am closing my ears to right now. For the record, since the 3rd birthday party, and the last crumb of fattening ice cream cake I will taste for a while, (sigh) I've put the Nigella cookbook to the back of the cupboard and it's been fruit and salad overload for me. Yawn. I mean, yum! Raw food all the way. Does uncooked brownie mix count as diet food too?

But, back to the doctors. My pint size second born has gone from 23lbs to 26lbs in 12 months. He's also grown a 'whopping' 1 1/12 inches. I fear a future for him as a jockey and not a quarterback. And him, an American boy. Tiny Tim in a world of the supersized.

However, from the way he battles with his big brother, I think he'll be able to hold his own in the playground somehow.

"How does he eat?" asks the doctor.

"With his mouth and a fork!" Am tempted to quip back, but instead I plump for the more acceptive, " Well. For a toddler. He loves his meat, fruit and veggies." Was I reading a script?

I fail to mention his penchant for all things chocolate and candy related, as am not in the mood for a lecture of the cavity inducing nature. I've already been in the exam room for an hour and the boys are starting to climb the walls. Literally.

So, we proceed to let the doctor poke and prod him and Monkey is given a clean bill of health despite his total refusal to pee in a cup for the doctor. We have enough challenges trying to get him interested in peeing in the potty, let alone a tiny plastic recepticle, thank you very much.

"And you stopped the bottle a long time ago didn't you?" The doctor asks.

Oh! Another Suri Cruise I hear you cry. Always dragging that bottle around. But, no, we're not that bad. Quite. I did try and take the bottle away. Honestly. We did the whole 'Now you are three, the bottle fairy's come to take your bottles away to babies that really need them' routine. And he looked me in the eye and burst into tears. Well, being a total softie Mum/Mom, I couldn't take it and promptly told him the fairy said he could have his morning milk in it for a few more days, until they pop by for it at the weekend!

I know! How many good Mummy points did that cost me then?

You see, he's my baby and I guess and there's some little things I'm finding hard to let go of as he grows bigger. When he does perform on the potty, on the outside I'm cheering him. On the inside I am crying, 'Don't grow up yet!'

The fact he is so small and looks like a 2 year old doesn't help.

Again, I blame Him Downstairs. He's the one with the skinny genes/jeans afer all.

This is my last summer with Monkey by my side full-time. Pre-school and a whole world of other outside influences beckons. Plus, hopefully a few more pounds. So, what the heck if he's tiny and I baby him a leetle too much? I want to enjoy every last second I have with him cuddling me and cosing up together, before he goes all Darth Vadar on me. It's not going to last forever. He eats. He sleeps. He grows (a bit). He's fine.

After all, they say the best things come in small packages don't they?

10 comments:

Small is definitely beautiful. My Littleboy 2 is also a bit of a tiddler, despite eating for England (or should that be American now?)

As for me, I can see that it will have to be raw food galore this summer, having spent the past weeks surviving on a diet of pizza, hotdogs, fries and super-sized chicken salad at restaurants. It is so hard not to put on weight in this country!

I agree totally. They are little for such a short time, and it's not like he will be packing his bottle alongside his shaving foam now is it? My little boy is also little and extremely healthy... and he loves milk in a bottle, so he gets it! heh heh!

WEll I can't comment on the small thing as mine are all absolutely bloody huge - although the Queenager is very slim. And you can give yourself a bit of a break - you only gave birth a little while ago!! My baby just turned 6 so I suppose I'd better stop using him as an excuse and do something about the belly fat.

My delicious sweet little boy is now almost 16 and communicates almost entirely in grunts. I dearly miss the age when he'd fit snugly in my lap and we'd read books together. Your boy is healthy and I say, ENJOY it because one day you'll get your head above water and he'll be there, all bones and body hair, texting GIRLS. Not that he still isn't my dear boy, but oh, to have him still want me near him....

It's funny..the different sizes of my two. I've managed to lose some weight (7lbs)...Porridge for breakfast, sandwich for lunch, usually casserole or curry with rice for tea. A bit boring but I'm happy to lose the lbs. Only a stone and a half to go. ;) PS. Award for you over at mine.

Polly and Miss B - thanks for stopping by and I couldn't agree more.HT - bless you for the award, I hardly feel worthy especially as I've been so lapse in blogging lately. Too busy stuffing my face with ice cream, er, I mean, dust haha!

About Me

Mother of two boys, wife of one, employed by all three and I didn't even have to have an interview.
I've survived five years in the American Dream and some of it's been lots of fun and some of it's almost had me on the first flight back to the UK. I still struggle with being a stay-at-home-mum/mom. What happened to that career I had?
I blog to share my parenting and expat experiences, but really it's my stress reliever to being a Brit out of water...